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Romania moves to restore powers of anti-graft body

by Radu Marinas
Monday, 16 August 2010 16:24 GMT

BUCHAREST, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Romania's lower house of parliament voted to restore the powers of an EU-backed anti-corruption agency on Monday, part of a reform plan to fight graft in one of the bloc's most corrupt members.

The legislation, approved by the lower house in an extraordinary session, still needs to clear Romania's senate, where the government has only a slim majority, later this month.

The EU's executive has said changes stemming from a court ruling this year made the National Integrity Agency (ANI) -- which checks politicians' wealth -- virtually impotent, violating Bucharest's EU entry commitments.

In April, the constitutional court ruled the agency's work was in breach of the constitution, saying its investigation work overlapped with the country's legal authorities.

Romania, along with Bulgaria and Greece, has some of the worst corruption practices among EU members, according to Transparency International.

Monday's bill to restore ANI's powers, passed with 204 votes to 2, was strongly opposed by the powerful leftist opposition, which describes its activity a political witch hunt. The Social Democrats, the biggest opposition party, boycotted the ballot.

"This is a positive development but let's see how the senate will debate and vote on it. Given past experience with the upper house, I'm reluctant to predict an outcome," Horia Georgescu, secretary general of the agency, told Reuters by telephone.

Under the new rules passed on Monday, filing incorrect wealth statements will become a crime and people running for public posts, including parliament, will have to submit public wealth and conflict-of-interest declarations.

State contracts where a politician has an interest would also need to be made public. In addition, civil courts will restore their ability to seize politicians' assets deemed illegal following investigations carried by so-called integrity inspectors and prosecutors.

Georgescu's agency has monitored about 100 lawmakers, or about a quarter of the country's two-house parliament. Local media have also reported it wanted to launch inquiries into the finances of several top magistrates.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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